Choosing A Wedding Venue

Take your time when looking for your venue. You can do a lot of the hard work by using the internet to see what’s available in your area and also to discount any that are out of your budget.  The website should give you valuable information as the facilities, room sizes, if there is a garden for photographs etc.  There is no point driving around lots of different venues if they do not offer what you are looking for of if they are far too expensive.  There is nothing worse with falling in love with avenue only to find out you can’t afford it.
Also consider if the website looks tired and out of date, or the pictures aren’t very flattering that can tell you a lot about what the venue may be like, also if the photo’s aren’t very nice remember this could reflect in your own wedding photo’s
Once you have found some venues that look suitable make a short list and then make appointments to view them.

Larger venues are more likely to take books for more than one event on the same day so it is worth finding out if you will be sharing your day with anyone and who. Although smaller venues it is more likely that you will be hiring the whole venue.  Most venues have packages that offer the hire of specific rooms for a set time period.
When viewing a potential venue, pay attention to how friendly the staff are, and does it have a friendly welcoming atmosphere and do you feel comfortable and relaxed there. Do bear in mind that the rooms you may be looking at might be empty and not set for a wedding reception, so you will have to use your imagination to think how it will look full of tables and chairs and also that it will look smaller when it has been set up. Check what shape the tables are - are they round, square oblong, as this can have an effect on how you can set up the room and your table seating plans. If possible ask to see photos of previous wedding held at the venue to get some ideas.
If you are considering a very large venue, do you have enough guests to fill it and create the right atmosphere, also check the amount of toilets available in relation to the amount of guests you are intending to have.
One of the most popular choices for venue is the ballroom style hall of a large city hotel, giving easy accessibility for guests, and the Hotel will have a wealth of experience of hosting weddings. The only drawback is you may not be able to personalise the venue as much as you may like. And there may be a distinct lack of gardens or outside space for photo opportunities.
If you are looking for the experience and organisational skills of a hotel but want the outside space then you may need to look further afield at the country hotels which should offer gardens and outdoor space.
If you are looking for a specifics look and fancy a challenge then an empty space which you can magically transform into your dream wedding setting might be for you but it will involve alot of organising from the food, to tables and chairs will need to be arranged, so it might be worth considering a wedding event lanner to do all this for you.

If you want to make the venue very personal you may be looking for a themed venue of something that is of particular interest to you. There is a variety of alternative places that can be hired as a wedding venue from zoos  and museums to ships and sports grounds.
Where ever you choose to have your wedding venue - it has to feel right and comfortable to you. The staff should be friendly and it should fit your budget.

copyright The UK Wedding Store 2012.